Poor girl..

I spoke too soon yesterday... Poor Kay was up every hour or two last night miserable. She has a cold and a small fever. The nurse said the fever/fussiness is probably from the shots since Kay had such a bad reaction last time. I hope she is feeling better soon and we do not have to return to the doctor!!

I'm growing!

We had Kay's 4 month doctor appointment today. She seemed to do a little better with the shots this time. They did not give her the one she reacted to so badly last time. Instead of one combined shot, she received three separate ones. Her iron levels in her blood are where they should be now. This is great news because now she won't have to take extra iron. The doctor wants her to wait on rice cereal for another 4-6 weeks for her adjusted age.

Kay now weighs 11 pounds 9 oz, 24.5 inches long, and a head circumference of 40 cm. She is 10% in weight, 50% in height, and 20% in head! She is really starting to catch up on her size now. Our doctor referred us to a physical therapist group to have Kay evaluated for her head control. She is right on track for being six weeks younger, but the doctor wants to see if a physical therapist could help get her in line with her other 4 month old friends. We will see what they have to say on Thursday.

We hung out with our friends Anna, AW, Shane, Cheri and Addaline this weekend. Addaline was born at 30 weeks premature in February so she and Kay are "glow worm" buddies. They both had to go through similar treatments in the hospital. We had a great time and Anna and AW were excellent hosts. We were pretty limited on what activities we could do with two little ones. We did all go out to eat on Saturday and then to a brewery tour. The girls were so cute. They just looked at each other and babbled back and forth some. Kay did most of the "talking" and Addaline tried to teach Kay how to roll over. There were a few "conversations" back and forth through crying at about 1 am each night.

4 Months old...

Wow! It is hard to believe that Kay is four months old. Time has flown by. Everyone always told me it would and it is true. I know I say this every time, but I am amazed at how much she has grown and changed. She is working really hard on growing some fuzz for hair. Although her cheeks have filled out a lot, she is still very long and thin. She still has her bright blue eyes. I wonder if she will keep them or if they will turn brown. We get her 4 month weigh in next week at the doctor.



Some of Kay's favorite faces this month...



We have had a busy few weeks. We are thankful Kay's grandpa is now healthy and out of the hospital (yes, you read that right...everyone but grandma in my family has spent time in the hospital over the past few months. We pray that grandma stays healthy and everyone else continues to recover!)

Kay has learned lots of new tricks. She is getting much better with holding her head up and has even started to enjoy her chair for a few minutes at a time. I think she really likes being able to look around at things.


She is really starting to "talk" now. This is how she calms down to fall asleep and how she plays with us. I tried to capture her babbles. The picture is dark because I had to sneak in her room while she was falling asleep for nap because she always stops if she sees me pull out the camera. I think she is fascinated by the big black object in front of her.



It has been cold for the past several days here. Kay didn't seem to mind and still enjoyed going for a walk. We are going to have to work on the fact that she does not like to wear a hat. She fussed the whole time it was on. I don't understand it because she hates being cold! Kay sends a special thank you to Heidi for her hand-knit hat!

Why is everyone looking at me??....

Ok... I admit...I couldn't resist. Charlie was in town because Scott and Marcia had a wedding this weekend. I asked them to bring his Halloween costume so we could take pictures for Kay and Charlie's great grandma's birthday (she has a birthday on Halloween). We drew a pretty big crowd to the booth we used at the Farmers Market. Everyone kept saying " we want to see the cute little kids in their costumes". It was very entertaining and really hard to get both kids to sit still and look at the camera! Charlie kept looking at Kay and saying "baby". Kay just looked around probably thinking to herself "what are they doing to me!" A big thank you from Kay to her cousin Charlie for letting her borrow his outfit from last year!

Our Little Helper...

We have had a big week! My brother has been in the hospital with a blood clots in his shoulder and lungs. We are so thankful that he is now home and feeling much better.

We have purchased a new car (well, new to us). It took several over hour drives this week to look at it, test drive it, and then bring it home. We are ready to sell/donate the mobile and enjoy our new "family car" as our neighbor put it! Again, Kay was a trooper during the long car rides and behaved great. Kay hung out/napped with us outside while we cleaned all of the cars and got the mobile ready to sell.



Kay also had her first two days at daycare this week. The ladies said she slept and ate great. The noise from the other children did not seem to bother her. I have been working hard trying to make a lot of noise at home while she is sleeping to try to make the transition easier. I hope it continues!

Of course with her first two days of daycare comes her first cold. We were supposed to go to the mountains and visit with our friends at a camp where they work. We decided not to make the drive because it was her first cold and we thought we should be close to the doctor just in case. Plus, we were also not looking forward to a long drive with a baby that was uncomfortable. We will have to wait until spring for the trip next time. Here is a picture of Kay helping me with laundry trying to pack for the trip we didn't take.



Kay seems to be making a fast recovery. Kay went with us for a country breakfast at our church's fall festival. She also attended church for the first time. With the loud music it took her awhile to fall asleep, but she did and slept peacefully the entire service.

We have been taking a lot of walks in our neighborhood and to the grocery store. She really seems to be enjoying it.

Kay has also found her thumb. When I pulled it out she was sucking so hard it was bright red! We will see if she continues this habit..

3 Months Old...

Kay is three months old now. It is hard to believe. Time has flown by. We are still waiting for the day when she gives me more than a couple hours of sleep at night :)

Kay is great at giving us adorable smiles now. They are hard to catch on camera. My friend caught one of her smiling at Craig. It is a little blurry, but at least you can see her big smile!


Kay is also really starting to watch and observe. Kay was really fascinated by her aunt Robin.


Kay is about to outgrow the swaddling. I find her kicked out of it after most naps. It makes me a little sad because I love wrapping her up like a burrito all nice and cozy!


Here is a three month picture with her teddy bears. She is getting harder to sit still and get a picture. She always has a hand or foot moving. She is wearing one of my dresses from when I was a baby.


I took this picture to thank the ladies who quilted her NICU quilt. As I put Kay on the blanket I couldn't believe how much bigger she has gotten. It brought back a lot of memories from earlier this summer. I am so thankful she continues to grow and is so healthy. It reminded me once again how thankful we were for everyone's thoughts and prayers as we left our baby girl in the hands of the NICU staff. What a life changing experience for us!


Kay was able to meet her Pops last week. I think she enjoyed the snuggle as much as he did!


A funny story...I learned a valuable "motherhood" lesson yesterday. Mom and I both needed to go to the mall to run some errands. We took Kay to the mall where there was no covered area not thinking much of it. Of course, it started to POUR down rain right when she was starting to loose it and need to head home. I am sure anyone watching us was laughing uncontrollably as we tried to get the stroller in the car, get her in without getting wet and then get ourselves in. By the end of it, mom was so soaked her hair was plastered to her head and her outfit was so wet she left a wet print on the coach. While I was loading Kay in the car I had to stand in a huge puddle where my jeans must have soaked up the entire puddle because they would hardly stay up they were so wet by the end of it. So, for all you new mom's out there... stay inside when it is raining unless there is a covered area!! Why don't malls think of that?? We even commented when we first got the mall about how quiet it was, no one was out shopping. I guess they all were the smart ones!

Other Pictures...

Kay is starting to enjoy bath time more as she gets more used to it.


All tired out after her first football game. She cheered hard, but we still lost!


Grandma and Grandpa take the grandchildren on a walk around the lake.


Here are some more Labor Day Pictures...

A picture of our room or "closet". Believe it or not, this is a room on the side of the hall that actually has the larger rooms.


Kay is wearing a sweater that was hand knitted by one of Craig's family friends


Kay took naps under the table where she would be close by and we could keep an eye on her.


Kay is really starting to smile and do a little laugh at us now. We are loving trying to figure out what will make her react. She is really making her daddy's heart melt! She is starting to reach for toys that hang above her head. She hasn't fully figured out that when she flings her hand and hits the toy it is her that is controlling it. She continues to be a snuggle bug and really enjoys being held. I wonder how long that will last before she just wants to be on the move!